When Chadwick Boseman sadly died in 2020, Marvel chose to respect his legacy and critically-acclaimed portrayal of T’Challa by refusing to recast the role. Although the mantle of Black Panther is expected to be passed on in the sequel to the 2017 Marvel movie, Black Panther 2 as a whole seems like it will have a more expansive approach.
Instead of relying on one main character, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever teaser trailer suggests that the film will be an ensemble effort led by Letitia Wright (Shuri), Lupita Nyong’o (Nakia), Danai Gurira (Okoye), and Angela Bassett (Ramonda). The trailer also teased the introduction of Talocan, the MCU’s equivalent to Atlantis, and the debut of Marvel Comics character Namor the Submariner (Tenoch Huerta).
In an interview with Marvel following the D23 Expo, Winston Duke, who will be reprising his role as M’Baku, revealed that the upcoming superhero movie won’t just be debuting an underwater kingdom — but will also introduce the audience to more, previously unseen parts of Wakanda, too.
In the first Black Panther movie, M’Baku was the leader of the Jabari Tribe: a breakaway tribe in Wakanda who were initially staunchly against T’Challa’s rule.
“[M’Baku] is no longer the insular leader, he’s learning how to move forward,” Duke explained. “So, he has a very large, wide, macro lens as to what’s happening and I think we get to see more of that, and see how much that impacts him.”
“What I’m most excited for fans to see is how much more Wakanda there is. There’s just so much more than the first movie, and that’s exciting.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will arrive in theatres on November 11, 2022. To find out what’s next for the MCU, check out our guide to Marvel’s Phase 5.